The History of Jerusalem

Jerusalem: A Holy City with a Troubled History

Jerusalem is considered to be one of the holiest places worldwide. The city is located in Israel. There are three major monotheistic religions associated with the origin of Israel, Christianity, Judaism, and Islamic. Because of these aged associations, there has been a serious conflict to determine who controls the city.

The Rise of Christianity in Jerusalem

During the 300 and 600 AD, Christianity began to spread in different parts of the world. A new spiritual wave emerged with political, social and economic contact that gave religion a compelling significance. The Christianity in Jerusalem and the entire Han and roman emperies grew very fast due to the influence the belief had on the society of that time (Nicolaou, 2018).

Political and Religious Struggles in Jerusalem

By 300 AD the western Afro-Eurasia region was dominated by Rome but started to fall off by the early fourth century. The strength of the roman had proven beneficial to the new Christianity denominations ferment who by this time had begun their mission in Jerusalem and Rome regions. The new Christian arrival had no option but burrowed to the decaying Jerusalem society. As barbarians took over the western part of Rome empires, the residents of Jerusalem, Rome, and the other invented regions looked at the newly established Christian faiths hoping they would restore order. The Christians found a papacy in Rome to rule over the remnants of the fragmented sector (Cameron, 2017). To the eastern part of Jerusalem, the Byzantine Empire established itself and claimed to lead the Christians political arm. Another empire still was established referred to as Sasanian empire and brought in new policies in Jerusalem.

Religious Divisions and their Impact

During this time, different religious groups claimed to be the kingpins in Jerusalem which contributed to the growth of different Christian dominions on the region. Of course with the new Christians inventing Jerusalem by this time, new immigrants come to the area. The migration of the Christians to Jerusalem resulted in the difference in the political, social and economic lines.

The Unstable Political Climate

The political environment in Jerusalem has never settled. Different religious groups have been fighting for control of the making its political climate unconducive. Early 300 AD Alexander the great was the leader, and he controlled Jerusalem (Grant, 2015). Later the city was conquered and lead by various groups including Arabs, Romans, Mamelukes, Persians, Fatimid’s, Seljuk Turks, Egyptians, Islamists, and crusaders. With the different leaders who automatically represented their religion, Jerusalem suffered the influence of many various dominations which altered and destabilized its political background to date.

The Economic Challenges

The economy of the city of Jerusalem has too suffered from the early leadership of the different Christian groups. First, the population of the town decreased at a high rate during the interdenominational wars. People migrated from the city in fear of their lives. The economic activities were severely affected, and people suffered especially in finding food (Lee, 2015). Most of the financial aspects, trade, agriculture, industrialization and also education suffered majorly, and it affected the economic background of the city for a long time.

The Impact on Social Life

The social environment was too affected severely. Identification of people was by their religions. Different religious groups were afraid of exposing their faith since communities fought each other by faith. Peace never prevailed in Jerusalem during these time. Freedom of worship was also limited (Grant, 2015). Religion was used to define the social background of the people. Each community practiced what was right as per their denomination.

The Present State of Jerusalem

Up to today, Jerusalem is always under religious influence. Different denominations want to be associated with it. The city has never settled in political and social aspects although the economy seems to be somehow stable.

References

Cameron, A. and Hoyland, R., 2017. Doctrine and Debate in the East Christian World, 300      1500. Routledge.

Grant, M., 2015. From Rome to Byzantium: the fifth century AD. Routledge.

Lee, A.D., 2015. Pagans and Christians in late antiquity: a sourcebook. Routledge.

Nicolaou, D., 2018. Liturgical Structures of the Early Christian Basilicas of Cyprus: A Spatial Analysis. Church Building in Cyprus (Fourth to Seventh Centuries): A Mirror of            Intercultural Contacts in the Eastern Mediterranean.